TANZANIA d) Budget and expenditure? • e) Information about procurement procedures, signed contracts? • f) Vacancy and employment procedures? • g) The address, telephone number, and working hours of the institution? • h) The contact details of specific public officials? • i) A mechanism to request and receive a response to electronic messages and requests for information? • No information on working hours is provided. Total Score: 11/20 CATEGORY 2: REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION The following questions were sent to TCU: 1. What criteria do you use when admitting students into a particular university? 2. There has recently been a mushrooming of colleges and universities in Tanzania. However, some of them don’t seem to have what it takes. What are the requirements for registering a University? 3. There have been several cases of students from private universities to postponing their studies by a year/ semester, with some even dropping out of college due to challenges such as tuition fees. Considering that not every student receives government loans, how does TCU ensure private universities set and provide affordable university education? 4. There have been claims by employers that many university graduates in recent years are “half-cooked,” in other words, they are not well prepared. Does your office have a mechanism to check and recheck the curriculum or the skill levels of university lecturers? n = 20 Yes No Partial Additional Information • 1. Is there an official designated to take and respond to information requests? 2. Did the institution reply within 21 days? • 3. Did the institution respond to the request for information? • 4. Does the authority publish their procedures for dealing with information requests? • 5. Did the institution provide all of the information requested? • 6. Does the institution provide written reasons for the refusal of information? • 7. Did the institution disclose information about its operations, budgets, structure etc. • 8. Did the authority provide information without questioning the aims and motivations of the applicant? • 9. Did the institution acknowledge your request for information within 7 days? • 10. Was the information received clear and understandable? • Seemed to doubt our staff member who handed in the letter Total Score: 15/20 6. Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) Agency Category 1: Website http://www.tfs.go.tz The website links to the organisation’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and contains current information about the institution. It uses more English than Swahili which might be a challenge for most Tanzanians. 93